April 08, 2009

If I recall correctly, there are 5 or 6 Savers in the Phoenix metro area. 1 each in Austin and El Paso. A fabulous Savers in Milpitas, and another in San Jose. 3 in the Portland metro area, and another just across the state line in Vancouver, WA. 2 stores in Vancouver, BC (in Canada, they're called Value Village), and another 3 or 4 within spitting distance in the Vancouver burbs. There's even a Savers in Anchorage, Alaska. I've been to all of these -- and many others -- and I faithfully visit them whenever I'm in their neck of the woods.

Why oh why won't Savers come to Bakersfield? Or at least somewhere less than 300 miles from the lonely southern end of the San Joaquin Valley?

Savers ismy all-time favorite thrift store chain. They started as Value Village in San Francisco in 1954, the year before I was born, and their Richmond, California store was my family's thrift store of choice during the Kennedy years. And then Value Village quietly disappeared from my life, only to be rediscovered as Savers 4 or 5 years ago, on a trip to Phoenix. It's been true love ever since.

Savers is a great place to shop, with a different colored-tag special each day of the week. They offer over-55 discounts, have wonderful half-off sales, and almost always have a coupon available or a punch card for earning shopping dollars. I've literally filled my truck on vacations that take me near a Savers store. My husband buys his ties there, and loves Savers as much as I do ... sometime soon I'll do a post on his crazy and quirky ties :o)

Here's some info taken directly from the Savers website. Please take the time to check them out, they're a wonderful company that contributes daily to making the world a better -- and greener -- place for all of us.

April 07, 2009

Tuesday night in California, pushin' 11 p.m. Tuesday is an office day for me, and I'm still at work, finishing up a day of packaging eBay sales and listing some of my newest finds.

Unlike many eBay sellers, I don't work out of my home ... I rent an "office house," right around the corner from where I live. 2000 square feet of mixed use space ... command central for the process of sorting, cleaning, photographing, listing, selling, and shipping my junkin' finds.

Can you say messy?

Things get picked up, looked at, and put back down -- sometimes without a lot of conscious thought. The end result is bizarre little vignettes that seem to create themselves.

When I finished taking today's eBay pics, I decided to wander through the office and snap a few shots of the current state of my working world.

In the "Dish Room"

Part of last summer's bounty, waiting to be listed.

Pyrex and dinnerware from Oregon thrift stores.

Aren't these fishing bears adorable? I found them at a high school yard sale in Camas, Washington, last August.

This one's a little scary! Dorothy, Glinda, and the Cowardly Lion, next to a milk bottle and in front of a cigar box purse. I really wonder who stood up these Happy Meal toys.

This is NOT decorating, honest ... but there sure is a lot of work to do after taking two months off to work on my own house. If you see anything you can't live without, be sure to let me know! How about this next little gem that followed me home?

Yes, someone will buy this ... isn't life amazing?

If you'd like to share a post about junking, just follow the directions below. I've created a button to place on your blog, so please grab a copy, tell your friends, and jump right in.

How to Particpate in 30 Days of Junkin' ...

1. Write a post about junking on your blog, or link to a post you've already written. We want to hear about the hunt and the rewards ... where you shop, how you do it, and what you do with your goodies. This is a celebration of All Things Junk, so please share your treasures as well as your tips.

2. Place the 30 Days of Junkin' button at the top of your post.

3. Add your permalink using Mr. Linky. Please do not link until your post is up.

I encourage everyone to share at least one post celebrating junkin' during April, any day you wish. Once your post is up and linked, you can grab a copy of this badge for your sidebar. Please link it back to my main blog addy ... http://auctiongirlvintage.typepad.com

I'm my usual writing-late-in-the-day self, and now that I've finally remembered to take a picture of something yummy for Kim's Tasty Tuesday at Forever ... Wherever, I just discovered today is the very last day she plans to do it. Well, dang ... I guess Mr. Linky needs to say You're LAST! instead of You're Next :o)

As my dad used to say, better last than never ...

This is one of my favorite fast-and-easy meals, delicious any time of day ... breakfast, lunch, dinner, brunch, or late night snack. It's a veggie and cheese fritatta, which is kind of like an omelet -- but easier and made to share -- and kind of like a quiche without crust, but much faster and with far fewer calories. It takes longer to read the directions than it takes to cook the fritatta.

Fritattas are Italian, made with eggs, cheese, and anything else you'd like to toss in. This is a great dish for fresh-from-the-garden veggies, or for using up whatever yummy leftovers are in the fridge. You can make a fritatta for one person (2 eggs, in a small saute pan), 2 people (3 or 4 eggs, in a small or medium pan), or to feed the entire family (8 or more eggs in a large frying pan). Fritattas can be served hot, cold, or at room temp, so they're also great to make ahead.

Here's a basic recipe for a large fritatta ... exact measurements aren't important, and you can cut the recipe in half if you're only feeding one or two people. I use a large pan for making 4 egg or 8+ egg fritattas ... more eggs makes a thicker fritatta, which takes a couple extra minutes to cook.

Cheese: Cheese is optional, but we always add cheese. I like to stir a few tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese into the eggs-and-milk mixture, and I add another 1/2 to 1 cup (or more) of any kind of soft grated cheese ... mozzarella, jack, cheddar, etc.

Salt, pepper, fresh or dried herbs ... to taste.

Olive oil or veggie oil ... 1 to 2 tablespoons.

Preparation:

Get everything chopped and mixed before starting, because this cooks quickly.

Preheat your broiler, with the rack about 6" below the heat source.

Heat the olive oil in a large oven-safe frying pan (I use cast iron). Add veggies in the order in which they'll cook ... potatoes first, if you're using them, then onions and mushrooms, followed by bell peppers and green onions right before adding the egg mixture.

Saute veggies till done. You can add a couple tablespoons of water and cover the pan to speed this up, if desired. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and herbs. I used fresh rosemary for the fritatta in the photo -- I keep two 4" pots of rosemary (from Lowe's) in a basket in my kitchen window, so I can snip it off and toss it in many recipes.

Adjust heat under pan to medium or medium high. Pour in eggs-milk-and parmesan mixture, let it begin cooking, and then stir gently, like for scrambled eggs. When eggs are about half cooked, toss in a handful or two of freshly grated cheese. Using a wooden spoon or heat-proof spatula, spread eggs evenly across pan and pat down gently. Remove pan from heat.

I add more grated cheese at this point, plus a handful of chopped green onions, so it looks pretty when it's done.

Place frying pan on rack beneath hot broiler and cook for 2 to 5 minutes, until the eggs puff up a bit and the top begins to brown.

Remove pan from oven and let rest for 5 minutes for eggs to finish cooking. Slice into wedges or scoop out with a spoon. Garnish with fresh fruit or herbs, if desired. This goes great with a crisp salad, sourdough rolls or whole grain bread, and a glass of chilled white wine.

See how the egg sticks a bit to the edges of the pan? It's supposed to do that, so don't worry that you did something wrong. Fritattas are more user-friendly than omelets ... no rolling, folding, or stuffing. This is authentic, rustic Italian cooking, the kind of food people travel all the way to Tuscany to eat ... and now YOU can make it in your very own home and eat it in your jammies.

Now that spring veggies are showing up at our farmer's market, I'm making fritattas at least twice a week, usually for my own lunch or family brunch, and our sons finish off any leftovers the moment they walk through the door.

Some yummy ingredients to consider using: crumbled bacon or diced ham, kalamata olives, ortega chiles, fresh dill or thyme, raisins, fresh or frozen peas, chopped broccoli, Italian sausage, fresh or sundried tomatoes, pesto ... just about anything you'd put in an omelette or on a pizza works great! I like my fritatta garnished with sliced avocado and a little sour cream ... my sister likes it with marinara sauce drizzled over the top.

One of the major differences between an older home (pre-60's, for the sake of this discussion) and a newer one -- and also between a new home and a more expensive or custom new home -- is the lack or presence of finishing details, trims, and molding.

As part of our current kitchen remodel, we decided to add Interior window sills in the breakfast room. As you can see in the before pics, the drywall "sills" have a number of drawbacks: they're not level from side to side and they're also not level with the bottom of the aluminum windows, which leaves bare vertical areas between the window and the wallpaper. Drywall sills are very hard to keep clean, and eventually the wallpaper "sills" begin to lift.

The solution to all of these problems was to buy two 8 foot lengths of paint-grade 4.5" baseboard molding (wide enough to extend about 3/4" past the wall, which means wide enough to hold a small vase, a wineglass, or a bottle of ice cold beer), cut it to length, paint it with leftover black cabinet paint, and attach it firmly. Because of the non-standard angle in the bay window, I made paper patterns to ensure that the edges would butt up tightly.

The white edging at the bottom of the window is carpenter's caulk or DAP installed by the builder 22 years ago.

Installation was quick and easy ... a thick line of wood glue along the front and back of the wallpapered area (to help seal the edges), followed by a few nails to hold it firmly in place. I love my nail gun :o) It keeps me from breaking windows with a misdirected hammer.

I especially like how the new wooden sill draws attention to the wide baseboards, which are made from a very similar molding:

My friend Tim, over at Remodeling Guy, is currently doing a series on trim and molding, with lots of terrific DIY articles and photos. Be sure to check him out, along with the four new specialty areas of his website ... he always has something terrific going on!

Just a few of the resale jeans available at In Your Wildest Dreams, my current favorite Bakersfield Antiques and Consignment store.

As promised in yesterday's 30 Days of Junkin' in April post -- a sneak peek at In Your Wildest Dreams -- I have an awesome post in the works about my first visit to this incredible store. Please stop by daily for more of my 30 Days of Junkin' in April series.

Today's question:How often do YOU wear denim?

Please leave a comment, and be sure to let me know if you have any specific questions about the wonderful world of junking.

If you'd like to share a post about junking, just follow the directions below. I've created a button to place on your blog, so please grab a copy, tell your friends, and jump right in.

How to Particpate in 30 Days of Junkin' ...

1. Write a post about junking on your blog, or link to a post you've already written. We want to hear about the hunt and the rewards ... where you shop, how you do it, and what you do with your goodies. This is a celebration of All Things Junk, so please share your treasures as well as your tips.

2. Place the 30 Days of Junkin' button at the top of your post.

3. Add your permalink using Mr. Linky. Please do not link until your post is up.

I encourage everyone to share at least one post celebrating junkin' during April, any day you wish. Once your post is up and linked, you can grab a copy of this badge for your sidebar. Please link it back to my main blog addy ... http://auctiongirlvintage.typepad.com

I've been meaning to write a longer post about In Your Wildest Dreams -- a truly awesome store -- and it's coming this week. Here's a sneak peek at just one of the fascinating finds atIn Your Wildest Dreams:

Today's question:Do you have a favorite antique mall?

Please leave a comment, and be sure to let me know if you have any specific questions about the wonderful world of junking.

If you'd like to share a post about junking, just follow the directions below. I've created a button to place on your blog, so please grab a copy, tell your friends, and jump right in.

How to Particpate in 30 Days of Junkin' ...

1. Write a post about junking on your blog, or link to a post you've already written. We want to hear about the hunt and the rewards ... where you shop, how you do it, and what you do with your goodies. This is a celebration of All Things Junk, so please share your treasures as well as your tips.

2. Place the 30 Days of Junkin' button at the top of your post.

3. Add your permalink using Mr. Linky. Please do not link until your post is up.

I encourage everyone to share at least one post celebrating junkin' during April, any day you wish. Once your post is up and linked, you can grab a copy of this badge for your sidebar. Please link it back to my main blog addy ... http://auctiongirlvintage.typepad.com

These are just a few pieces of vintage and handcrafted jewelry I've purchased while out junkin'. The four pairs of pink lucite earrings are from the 1960s, and were still on their original cards when I bought them in a $1 grab bag at a garage sale. I love wearing the faceted dangly ones, made for pierced ears. The other 3 pairs are clip-ons, and I'm still not sure how women of my mother's and grandmother's generation wore them all day long.

The button pin is a 3 inch wooden heart from the craft store, painted pink, with vintage buttons hot-glued to the front and a bar pin hot-glued to the back. I bought it at a Christmas boutique/craft fair held in someone's home, and I think I paid $3 ... I've had it for at least a dozen years or longer.

The freshwater pearls are a beautiful pale pink, though it's hard to tell in the photo. They're strung on sturdy coiled wire, so that they wrap around my wrist about 2 1/2 times, and they look terrific anywhere and everywhere ... at work, out to dinner, or on the beach. I bought them from a crafter at a flea market in Hawaii five or six years ago, and paid less than $5.00.

Flea markets, swap meets, craft fairs, and antiques shows are all super sources for inexpensive jewelry, and they're fun and affordable places to build your collections, find unique gifts, and enjoy an afternoon in the sun.

Something extra: Many craft fairs and flea markets are now welcoming sellers of locally-grown foods, which not only provides healthier snack choices, but also conveniently combinesthe freshness of the farmer's market -- including local artisan breads and cheeses, fresh herbs and eggs, independently grown flowers and bedding plants, and plant-ripened organic fruits and veggies -- with the fun of going junkin' ... how cool is that? One stop shopping on a Saturday morning, while saving time, money, and gas, and supporting sustainable agriculture. That's my kind of shopping!

Today's question:Where is your favorite outdoor place to shop?

Please leave a comment, and be sure to let me know if you have any specific questions about the wonderful world of junking.

If you'd like to share a post about junking, just follow the directions below. I've created a button to place on your blog, so please grab a copy, tell your friends, and jump right in.

How to Particpate in 30 Days of Junkin' ...

1. Write a post about junking on your blog, or link to a post you've already written. We want to hear about the hunt and the rewards ... where you shop, how you do it, and what you do with your goodies. This is a celebration of All Things Junk, so please share your treasures as well as your tips.

2. Place the 30 Days of Junkin' button at the top of your post.

3. Add your permalink using Mr. Linky. Please do not link until your post is up.

I encourage everyone to share at least one post celebrating junkin' during April, any day you wish. Once your post is up and linked, you can grab a copy of this badge for your sidebar. Please link it back to my main blog addy ... http://auctiongirlvintage.typepad.com

Almost everyone collects something, from handmade baskets to kaleidescopes to flower frogs (yep, flower frogs ... those thingies used to anchor floral arrangements, before the advent of floral foam). And a natural extension of having a collection is to display it in your home, which adds character and tells your visitors a bit about you. To learn more about floral frogs, visit Lori at Katie's Rose Cottage and Margo at Margo's Junkin Journal.

It's an accepted rule of thumb that three or more of anything qualifies as a collection. Items look great displayed in groups of three, five, or more. What you display -- and how and where your display it -- is completely up to you and your own sense of design and decor.

For example, many bloggers collect pretty plates, and I'm seeing more and more online photos of plate collections displayed not only in the kitchen and dining room, but also as a focal point over the fireplace, and on walls in the bathroom and bedroom.

Plates and bowls can also be used on tables and countertopsthroughout the house ... lying flat to hold potpourri, seashells, candles, or jewelry, or displayed on a stand as an anchor or focal piece in a themed vignette. Mixing and matching dinnerware is popular, and is a great way to beautiful tablescapes for a holiday or company dinner, or a romantic dinner for two. (Blue Pyrex "Butterprint" bowl photo via Confessions Of An Apron Queen).

A very popular -- and affordable-- item to collect is kitchenware made by Pyrex, Corelle, and Corning. Pyrex and Corelle are both Corning products, and there were often coordinating pieces produced for specific patterns under two or more of the labels. For example, many familar patterns of Corelle dinnerware (such as Spring Blossom/Crazy Daisy and Butterfly Gold) had matching Pyrex mixing bowls and covered casseroles.

Corelle is lightweight, thin, and stacks easily, and is known for being extremely break-resistant. Many of the older patterns are still very popular and highly collectible. Corelle has been the most popular brand of dinnerware for more than 30 years, and they are constantly updating their patterns and designs. Whether you prefer vintage or modern designs, there's bound to be a Corelle pattern that you'll enjoy. Thrifted Corelle is a great substitute for paper plates: it's outdoor-friendly, sturdier than paper, and greener than paper and foam plates that go straight into the landfill.

Corning also produced dinnerware under the Pyrex, Corning, Corningware, and Corning Centura labels, for both home and commercial use, sometimes in the same patterns as Corelle dinnerware, and also in patterns unique to the Pyrex or Corning label. One of my favorites is Corning Centura April Tulip (shown above), produced from the late 60s until 1972. It's an embossed white plate with a cheery band of spring-colored tulips. This pattern is also available in solid white.

Corelle and Corning dinnerware pieces -- plates, bowls, cups and saucers -- can be found for as little as ten cents per piece at yard and rummage sales. Pyrex bowls and Corningware casseroles can often be found for just a dollar or two, especially if you're purchasing a three or four bowl set that has a missing or chipped bowl.

Never pass up a favorite pattern because the set isn't complete ... eventually you'll come across the missing piece at another sale, and you can complete your set. Corelle, Corning, and Pyrex can also be found at most thrift stores at affordable prices.

In addition to being a collector, I also sell Pyrex, Corelle, and Corningware on eBay. This photo shows just one small pile of what I currently have on hand, waiting to be individually photographed and listed. When I'm at a garage sale, I always ask the seller: "Do you have any Corelle or Pyrex you'd like to sell?" So many times, they say yes and take me right into their kitchen. Many sellers tell me they didn't bother to put out partial sets of bowls or dishes, because they thought no one would want them.

The same is true for covered dishes missing their lids ... I buy these with or without lids, as my local Goodwill usually has tons of glass lids that are missing their bowls. Last summer, I purchased a box with more than 2 dozen glass lids for Pyrex and Corning, for just 2 bucks! I brought them home and matched them up to 10 or 12 bowls that needed lids, and listed them on eBay right away. Bowls with lids sell for more money online (and at flea markets and antique malls), so I always buy inexpensive glass lids when I find them.

Corningware "Grab It" covered bowls are a high-demand item, and they come in a variety of sizes. I recently bought 4 round 12 ounce Grab It bowls, with lids, for 50 cents each at a garage sale, and sold them for $26 (plus shipping). The oval Grab Its pictured here sold yesterday on eBay for $53. Kinda makes you feel like running to the kitchen and checking your cabinets, huh?

Here are links to my two favorite websites for info on Pyrex, Corning, & Corelle:

Please leave a comment, and be sure to let me know if you have any specific questions about the wonderful world of junking.

If you'd like to share a post about junking, just follow the directions below. I've created a button to place on your blog, so please grab a copy, tell your friends, and jump right in.

How to Participate in 30 Days of Junkin' ...

1. Write a post about junking on your blog, or link to a post you've already written. We want to hear about the hunt and the rewards ... where you shop, how you do it, and what you do with your goodies. This is a celebration of All Things Junk, so please share your treasures as well as your tips.

2. Place the 30 Days of Junkin' button at the top of your post.

3. Add your permalink using Mr. Linky. Please do not link until your post is up.

I encourage everyone to share at least one post celebrating junkin' during April, any day you wish. Once your post is up and linked, you can grab a copy of this badge for your sidebar. Please link it back to my main blog addy ... http://auctiongirlvintage.typepad.com

April 02, 2009

Some days I'm an early riser, and some days I'm not. If I make it out the door by 6 a.m. for Saturday garage sales, there's a very good chance I didn't go to sleep on Friday night.

I'm a mother, wife, lover, friend, cook, teacher, literacy coach, business owner, amateur decorator and devoted D.I.Y.er, and a professional/published writer. Like most women, I can juggle with the best of 'em, and often get an amazing amount of work done in a single day.

And yet, despite all the things I do in a timely fashion, I procrastinate and struggle with deadlines. More specifically, writing deadlines. I love to write, but I have to do it on my own terms. Maybe I wasn't properly weaned ... or I was abducted by aliens who didn't observe 24 hour days and the Gregorian calendar. Whatever.

On the very slim chance that anyone reading this is actually waking up and rushing to the computer for my current day's junkin' post ... well, most days you'll either have to check back later or be content with being a day behind (two days, for my friends in Europe and points further east). I like to write in the afternoon or evening, after I've done all the do-or-die items, like weeding the garden, paying the power bill, and polishing my new black sink. And I'm not above back-dating a post, to make it look like it showed up on the right day. Confession, they say, is good for the soul ...

At my house, we call it Victoria Standard Time. Welcome to my world. And please stop by again ...

ps ~ the clock photo was taken at last summer's August sale at BarnHouse. Joe & Jermonne rock! Be sure to visit their blog for some incredible eye candy and a list of their upcoming sales and shows.

Shopping at garage sales, thrift shops, and flea markets is addicting ... dedicated junkers are always on the lookout for their next great buy. Whether you're going to a yard sale at your next door neighbor's, or heading off to a once-a-year antique fair, there are a number of tools you shouldn't leave home without.

1. Money. This one seems obvious. Cash is king, and many sellers don't accept checks. If you're on a budget, don't take more than you can afford to spend. Take small bills and several dollars in quarters: it saves time, and it's much easier to get a seller to agree to accept $3 for a $5 item if you aren't handing them a five -- or twenty -- dollar bill.

2. Purse versus pockets versus fanny pack. Think about how you plan to carry your money, and what you can do to keep your hands free for holding the items you want to buy. If you're attending a large sale, and mingling with crowds, you'll want more security than a purse affords. Keep your money in your pocket, or in a fanny pack, and keep your large bills separate from the smaller ones, so that you're not flashing a big wad of cash in front of strangers.

3. Tote bag or backpack. I have a wonderful slouchy fabric tote/purse that can be worn across my chest, which leaves my hands free. I use it to hold my money, glasses, cell phone, a small notebook, bottled water, and a snack (fruit or granola bars). It's lightweight and has lots of room to hold small purchases, too. Other people -- including my husband -- prefer to carry a backpack to hold their basic necessities while browsing.

4. Something On Wheels. Are you a big-time shopper? Planning to buylots of small stuffor perhapssome really big stuff? If so, you're gonna want wheels. Yes, YOU will be the person getting on everyone's nerves by taking up a lot of space, but there's a limit to how much you can carry and how severely you're willing to abuse your back.

Here are some of the wheeled items I've seen other junkers use: suitcases, baby strollers (with or without the baby), rolling granny market carts (some come with an attached seat), pilfered shopping carts, little red wagons, flatbed carts, folding plastic crates with wheels and a handle, and even two skateboards poised beneath an antique dresser ... whew! The important thing to remember is, whatever you purchase, you're the one who has to carry it ... around the field, the fairgrounds, or the church basement.

5. Bottled water and snacks. Since I mentioned them in #3, I thought I should make it official. If you're going to be at a flea market or antique show for an hour or longer, it's nice to have your own drink and snacks, which saves time and money.

6. Baby wipes, kleenex, ziplock bags, and aspirin. Second hand shopping can be dirty, so I always have a baggie with baby wipes for cleaning my hands, and a full box of baby wipes in the car. Ziplock bags are great for organizing small items, including your money. Kleenex, aspirin, and allergy pills are a blessing when you need them.

7. Sunscreen, chapstick, a hat, sunglasses, and a sweater or jacket. Dress in layers. I like to wear a zip-front sweater with a hood, because it scrunches up easily in my tote bag. In the summer I wear a straw hat or beach visor, and in the winter I wear a rain hat that also keeps my ears warm. Practical clothing and comfortis more important than being fashionable, despite how cute some of the vendors look standing in their booths. Most of the time, you'll get better prices if you make a point of dressing down ... leave your designer duds and flashy jewelry at home or at the hotel.

8. Comfortable shoes ... need I say more? I keep an extra pair of comfy shoes and socks in my car at all times, just in case I come across a sale or need to tramp through a field.

9. Notebook, pencil, measuring tape, magnifying glass, and digital camera. Keep a list of household measurements in your notebook, especially if you're shopping for a special piece of furniture: I've heard far too many stories from people who found the perfect armoire or sofa, but couldn't get it through any of their doors.

Write down locations of booths you might want to check again later in the day, especially if they're holding a large item for you. And if you find something you love -- but the price is too high -- leave your name and cell phone number with the seller, in case they change their mind. A small magnifying glass is helpful for deciphering tiny or worn maker's marks. My trusty pink camera is always with me, and I take tons of photos when I'm out junkin' ... to help me remember an item, to remind me to check price or provenance (origin), to save terrific display and decorating ideas, and -- of course -- to put on my blog.

10. Boxes, newspaper, tissue paper, plastic or paper bags. It's amazing how often sellers don't have anything available to package or protect your purchases. When I pull up to a great-looking yard or church sale, I bring in my own box so I can collect things quickly. I use U.S. Postal Service mail tubs for this, because they're sturdy plastic and have handles, and they're always in my car for shipping my eBay sales. The Postal Service provides them for free ... just ask at the counter, and keep one or two on hand in your car. They're terrific for coralling groceries, wet beach towels, and bedding plants from the nursery.

When I'm doing large amounts of junk shopping, I bring along a supply of flat-folded filing/storage boxes with lids, available at office supply stores. These, too, have built-in handles, and they're great for repackaging items in beloved Suburban for safe transport. Once I put the lid on, the boxes can be stacked and offer lots of protection along with efficient storage.

Coming home from last summer's buying trip to Washington, Oregon, and northern California, Ray and I had 42 filing/storage boxes wedged into the truck, along with 2 suitcases, my computer, an ice chest, three cases of wine, 2 folding chairs and a TV tray, and a Rubbermaid tote that held our kitchen stuff: pots, pans, sharp knives, cutting board, corkscrew, a strainer, and spices. Whenever possible, we rent apartments with full kitchens when we travel, so we can take advantage of local farmers markets and not have to get dressed up to go out to eat at the end of a long day. Like many cooks, we prefer our own favorite cookware and knives to the lightweight, low quality ones available in rental units.

Today's question: What did I forget to add to my list of must-have items for junkers?

Please leave a comment, and be sure to let me know if you have any specific questions about the wonderful world of junking.

Ifyou'd like to share a post about junking, just follow the directions below. I've created a button to place on your blog, so please grab a copy, tell your friends, and jump right in.

How to Participate in 30 Days of Junkin' ...

1. Write a post about junking on your blog, or link to a post you've already written. We want to hear about the hunt and the rewards ... where you shop, how you do it, and what you do with your goodies. This is a celebration of All Things Junk, so please share your treasures as well as your tips.

2. Place the 30 Days of Junkin' button at the top of your post.

3. Add your permalink using Mr. Linky. Please do not link until your post is up.

I encourage everyone to share at least one post celebrating junkin' during April, any day you wish. Once your post is up and linked, you can grab a copy of this badge for your sidebar. Please link it back to my main blog addy ... http://auctiongirlvintage.typepad.com

April 01, 2009

Welcome to April! Spring is definitely in the air in southern California, and Garage Sale Season is in full swing ... can ya feel it?

Ah, junkin' ..... what could be finer?

For a bargain-shopping junkaholic like me, few things are better than dragging my butt out of bed on a Saturday morning and driving around town in search of treasure. Cheap treasure. Tacky treasure. Vintage treasure. Treasure someone else no longer wants or needs. It's all about the hunt, and the adreneline rush that comes from scoring big.

I started junking with my mom when I was barely old enough to walk. Antique stores, thrift stores, rummage sales, and auctions. Salvation Army, Value Village, St. Vincent De Paul, and the rows of inexpensive junk stores in Fremont's Niles District, now home to a huge Antiques Fair every Labor Day weekend.

Gaga taught me to embroider and quilt; Mom taught me to sew clothing, draperies, and slipcovers. My mother taught me to cook and bake, and Gaga taught me to grow vegetables and roses. They both taught me about the virtues of thrift, about making do and making over, and about how one person's trash is another person's treasure.

Call it by whatever name feels true to you ... junking, thrifting, shopping, saling ... bargain hunting, sidewalk shopping, dumpster diving (aw, c'mon, we've all spied an incredible treasure in someone else's trash). Shop your way across town or across the country ... garage sales, yard sales, tag sales, church sales, and barn sales are all coming into season. And don't forget antique malls, co-ops, swap meets, flea markets, and antiques shows large and small.

In celebration of All Things Junk, I've decided to do a full month of posts about Junkin' ... and of course you're invited to join me any time you'd like to share. Topics are wide open: share your latest finds, your favorite trash-to-treasure makeovers, your all-time biggest bargain, your favorite junkin' blogs, or a list of your favorite places to shop. I'll be sharing all that and more during April, with 30 days of junkin' posts. Sort of a one-girl NaBloJunkMo ... National Blog Junkin' Month :o)

Each day, I'll add a Mr. Linky at the bottom of my post -- ifyou'd like to share a post about junking, just follow the directions below. I've created a button to place on your blog, so please grab a copy, tell your friends, and jump right in.

Today's question: Have garage sales started up in your area yet?

Please leave a comment, and be sure to let me know if you have any specific questions about the wonderful world of junking.

How to Participate in 30 Days of Junkin' ...

1. Write a post about junking on your blog, or link to a post you've already written. We want to hear about the hunt and the rewards ... where you shop, how you do it, and what you do with your goodies. This is a celebration of All Things Junk, so please share your treasures as well as your tips.

2. Place the 30 Days of Junkin' button at the top of your post.

3. Add your permalink using Mr. Linky. Please do not link until your post is up.

I encourage everyone to share at least one post celebrating junkin' during April, any day you wish. Once your post is up and linked, you can grab a copy of this badge for your sidebar. Please link it back to my main blog addy ... http://auctiongirlvintage.typepad.com

The subtitle of my blog -- right up there in the header -- is a girl, her thoughts, a camera, and a keyboard. That's pretty much what you get any time you drop by to see what's new in my world. I'm not here to make money, push an agenda, count visitors, or become Queen Of The Internet ... that's what my other website is for :o)

My blog is where I come to relax and reflect on my personal world, listen to my thoughts, share my passions, and meet some really great people who somehow wander in. It's where I take the time to sort through all the things that are going on in my life -- past, present, and future -- and choose something worth shining up enough to share. Today I'm sharing some lovely blue foods from a recent trip to one of my favorite cities, Vancouver, B.C.

My husband Ray and I love to travel: whether it's across town or halfway around the world, there's always something new to explore. We love to shop, we love to cook, and we love discovering new foods in new places. Entire vacations are often planned around what foods are going to be in season in a certain region, or when we can take a class from a favorite chef.

Wherever we go, my camera is a constant companion, letting me dabble in another favorite hobby ... photography. It's fun taking pictures of food, even though I rarely know what -- if anything -- I'll do with the pictures that multiply like rabbits.

We spent 10 days or so in Vancouver in December, doing foodie things and shopping for antiques. On a particularly cold Saturday morning, we took a 3 hour culinary walking tour of Commercial Drive, Vancouver's Italian (and a lot more!) district. Since it was the "off season" -- a week or so before Christmas -- there were only 4 people on the tour ... Ray and I, the tour guide (a local chef), and a recent vegetarian newcomer to Vancouver.

We mingled with a happy crowd of early morning shoppers, while nibbling our way through more than a mile's worth of stores and restaurants. Commercial Drive has dozens of restaurants, fruit and vegetable stalls, bakeries and butchers, Italian coffee bars, small ethnic grocery stores, and numerous specialty shops, all of which were piled to the ceiling with imported foods and holiday treats. The old-fashioned displays were wonderful, and I had a blast taking fun food photos that morning ... more than 200 pictures!

The colors of the packaging were as delightful as the food itself. Here are some blue pics from our culinary walking tour of Commercial Drive. All can be enlarged by clicking on the photo.

Mural on the side of the ravioli store

Mural on the side of the ravioli store

Culinary walking tours are hosted by Edible British Columbia. Click here for info on the Commercial Drive tour. They also offer tours of the wonderful Granville Island Public Market and Vancouver's Chinatown.

March 23, 2009

Gosh, it's been 10 -- TEN! -- days since I've sat down and written a post, so I thought I'd better do a little blurb for Met Monday. Here are some before and after pics of the cabinet beneath my cooktop:

Is this ugly or what???

I took this pic a few weeks ago, after painting the outsides of my cabinets, but before removing the old cooktop. All that space-gobbling metal ducting is the exhaust vent for the triple-wide Jennaire cooktop that came with the house 22 years ago. The shelves are particle board, and had gotten chipped and stained over the years: in some places the surface was beginning to disintegrate from having wet pans and cutting boards placed on it.

We removed the old Jennaire before replacing the countertops and cooktop. Tearing out the metal ducting was one heck of a difficult -- and nasty/greasy -- job for my handyman/electrician/plumber. The original installer put that ducting in to stay! When it was finally gone, there were two gaping holes left behind -- one in each shelf, where the ducting passed through. We covered the holes with thin sheets of roof flashing attached with Gorilla Glue (amazing stuff!), and then I resurfaced both shelves with cheapie peel-and-stick linoleum tile.

Look at all that space!

The best thing about this project is that anyone can do it. The tile is the least expensive self-stick tile available at Lowe's ... I think I paid 42 cents per square foot. It's thin but not brittle, so it's super easy to trim with a razor blade or scissors. And because it's sort of soft and flexible, it molded itself over the small rise of the metal patches and the edges of the tiles still stuck nicely to the shelves. It took me less than an hour to do the two shelves, and Ray spent 5 minutes or so adding a little DAP around the side and back walls of the cabinet.

Not bad for a quick Sunday afternoon re-do, and it looks like a million bucks!

March 13, 2009

Riddle me this ... if it took me 6+ weeks to prep and paint my kitchen cabinets, why did this week seem interminable?

I suppose it's because I've spend most of the week watching, giving unsolicited advice, and keeping my butt out of the way, so the professionals can get their work done. And the truth is, I'm not very good at just sitting around while the construction dust piles up, even if they DO clean it up every afternoon. As is often the case, we're multi-tasking and juggling mutliple contractors, to minimize the amount of time we're without a sink and stove.

Since I needed a task for my idle hands, I took lots of photos of my countertop prep and installation, and I thought I'd share them for those of you who are curious about the process of removing ceramic tile and installing granite or marble tile. Choosingstone tileinstead ofstone slabscan dramatically cut the cost of new countertops, leaving some money in the budget for additional upgrades.

MONDAY, DAY 1: Here's the before photo of the east side of the kitchen, ready for demo:

An hour later, all of the ceramic tile had been removed, along with the sink, garbage disposal, and triple wide JennAir cooktop. The demo guys offered to take the cooktop to the dump for free, but I'm too much of a 70's kid to even consider tossing that much metal in the landfill. The electric BBQ grill works fine, the two double burner units are only a year or two old, and the down vent fan needs repair or replacement. I'll probably put this on FreeCycle.com so that someone else can use it as-is or repair the exhaust van. We're installing a new cooktop with a smaller footprint, to gain about 14" of use-able counter space.

The tile guys hung plastic to keep the dust in during the demo, making my kitchen look like the set of E.T.

The ceramic tile -- 23 years old, and original to the house -- was installed over concrete, so it pulled down some good-sized chunks of the wall when it was removed. I didn't expect the holes to be quite this large, but it really doesn't matter ... we needed to get inside the walls to install additional outlets on both sides of the sink, to add a new switch box, and to pull wires to add track lighting over the cooktop and bar. You can see there was some water damage to the wood and the particle board next to the sink, but it was very minor and didn't require repair or replacement.

This is the west wall, which had a small ceramic counter and backsplash. The tile was easier to remove from the drywall here, so there's much less damage: we'll cut a small opening to install a second electrical outlet, and then patch the drywall. The ceramic tile backsplash ran up the side of the cabinet, which is why the wood looks so beat up. A light sanding, plus primer/sealer and paint is all that's needed.

TUESDAY, Day 2: My neighbor Bob is a retired engineer who now does construction and handyman work, so he's doing the carpentry, electrical, and drywall repair for us, and is installing the new sink, disposal, cooktop, dishwasher, and overhead lighting. He started work as soon as the tile demo was finished Monday morning, and it took him two days to complete the prep work so we'd be ready to have the marble countertops installed.

Remember the part about raising the breakfast bar part of the counter? Bob carefully cut the "old" breakfast bar away from the cabinet and countertop framing, and then he lifted and reattached it with pine support brackets at the new height. How's that for being green and recycling/repurposing? The only new wood needed for the raised bar was the 4 brackets, a 6" strip of plywood to create a backsplash behind the stove, and one short piece of 1" x 2" added to the inside of the cabinet for a little extra vertical support. This photo also shows where wood slats were added to the righthand end of the countertop, creating extra counterspace and the right size opening for the drop-in cooktop.

The bar will be topped and faced with black granite, as will the new backsplash behind the stove, which will make for much tidier cooking than when the flat counter extended 14" behind the cooktop. In the picture above, you can see where Bob added a shim to level the wooden bracket on the right.

The bare wood visible on both sides of the lefthand bracket is the ends of the "old" breakfast bar support beams that extended about an inch into the cabinet. We were surprised to discover those structural supports were not actually attached in any way ... no nails, screws, or glue. They simply sat on notches cut in the thin sheet of plywood beadboard that makes up the back of the cabinet, and they were held in place by the weight of the old countertop.

WEDNESDAY, Day 3: The tile guys came back, wrapped my cabinets in heavy paper, covered the floor, and built a level frame (from inexpensive pre-primed molding strips) around the outside top of the cabinets. Then they covered the countertop slats with a couple layers of paper, and topped that with metal lath ... similar to chicken wire, but sturdier.

Wet concrete was poured onto the paper, and leveled using the molding as a guideline. The nails holding the molding in place were inserted in the unpainted portion of the cabinets, which will be covered by marble trim.

Checking the slant of the base material in the bay window ... it's raised about 3/8" from front to back, to discourage puddling from any oversplash from the sink. We also keep an old-fashioned dish drainer behind the sink, for air-drying pots and pans, and other hand-washed items.

Marble tiles have been set on top, and the marble trim is held in place with nails, to prevent it from shifting while the mastic sets.

Close up of the bullnosed edges on a 12 x 12 tile.

Fitting the tile around the diagonal cabinet fronts and the pre-framed opening for the sink took lots of measuring.

Thursday, Day 4: One of the tile guys came back this morning to grout the countertop, using an unsanded grout (non-abrasive, so it doesn't scratch the marble). I was like a kid on Christmas while waiting for him to finish grouting and remove the paper, so I could see how the counters looked on the black cabinets.

Lookin' good ... though the cabinets need the construction dust removed, and I need to remember where I put the breadboard.

We wanted as little grout as possible, but both Ray and I were pleasantly surprised to discover we like the grout and the definition it adds.

The marble is whiter than Carrera, meaning it's not nearly as gray as it looks in the photos. It has lots of large white crystals, and warm amber brown accents in addition to the usual gray veins. Like all polished stone, it will change color throughout the day, depending on the type and amount of light.

T.G.I. Friday, Day 5: No new photos today, since it's still early. Bob spent Thursday working on electrical, including installing two new light fixtures, and so far today he's put new plywood bases in the sink cabinet and over the subfloor under the dishwasher, added another outlet, and started the drywall repair. If all goes well, he should have the cooktop and sink installed this afternoon, so we'll have a functional kitchen again.

The granite guy came out right after lunch, to make templates for the raised bar and the counter next to the ovens. Those will be installed early next week, as will the dishwasher I ordered today. I got one heck of a deal on my dishwasher, which will be the subject of a different post.

Today's The Big Day ... while I'm typing this, there are two workmen in my kitchen, removing my old sink, cooktop, and worn out ceramic tile counters. We've been working our way toward this moment for the past 2 months, removing the upper cabinets on one side of the room, painting our remaining cabinets black (26 doors and 6 drawers), changing hardware, and customizing the inside of the cabinets.

We've also painted the kitchen, wallpapered the breakfast room, and started changing the overhead light fixtures. And we've shopped ... boy oh boy have we shopped. Dozens of hours looking for the perfect sink (black), the perfect cooktop (also black ... do you see a pattern here?), and the perfect kitchen faucet (not black, and still not chosen). Plus many more hours researching countertops: granite, marble, travertine, Corian, Silestone, and even high-quailty ceramic.

And the winner is ... stunningly gorgeous white marble, in 12" tiles, for the large U-shaped counter, with a black granite backsplash behind the cooktop (part of a new raised breakfast bar), and a black granite countertop between the ovens and fridge.

Next Monday, I should have photos of the new countertops. This week, I have before-and-afters of the black cabinets and a bit of the breakfast room reno.

Cabinet between fridge and ovens. For more before pics of the kitchen and breakfast room, click here and here.

Here are my black cabinet inspiration photos. The first one is Layla's kitchen, from The Lettered Cottage. I especially like the crown molding she added to the cabinet on the left, as well as her open/doorless cabinet. I don't know the source of the second photo, but I love the look of the open black shelves. We'll be adding similar ones on either side of our kitchen sink, now that our upper cabinets are gone.

I especially like the crown molding she added to the cabinet on the left, as well as her open/doorless cabinet.

I don't know the source of this photo, but I love the look of the open black shelves. We'll be adding similar ones on either side of our kitchen sink, now that our upper cabinets are gone. If you'd like to see more of my kitchen inspiration photos, please click here.

My cabinets ... in process :o)

I love my cabinets painted black. They're sophisticated and casual at the same time, and create the exact ambience I was aiming for ... an intimate cafe look, combining an open kitchen with a bistro-style dining area with a European flair.

Because of the way my family room/kitchen/breakfast room is laid out, it's impossible to take a picture of the entire kitchen, but here are several shots spread around the room:

Cabinet below cooktop, looking into breakfast room. Love the way the baseboards disappear, and how smudges don't show :o) The wallpaper is a wonderful change from the lemony yellow walls.

Upper cabinet between fridge and ovens. This is the only one I painted black inside, and it looks divine!

The same upper cabinet, after the doors and ceiling strip molding went up. Adding decorative trim adds a layer of luxury and kicks everything up a notch.

We didn't have enough space above the cabinet doors to allow for crown molding, so I chose a beaded chair rail instead. This one's from Home Depot, made of paint quality wood, which is very affordable: just over $15 for two 8-foot sections.

It's amazing how much space opened up when we took the upper cabinets out. Open black shelves will be going up where the walls are now tiled on either side of the sink, and the breakfast bar area behind the cooktop is being raised about 6" and will be black granite.

February 19, 2009

Nester's having a party, to celebrate the Finale of her fun and funky 10 Minutes To A Room You'll Love series. She's been sharing tips and fabulous photos of ways to perk up your rooms using what you have on hand, also known as shopping the house. These little 10 minute spruce-ups are just the thing for taking a room from plain to pretty, which improves not only how our spaces look, but also how we -- ourselves and our families, our friends and our visitors -- feel.

I've been puttering my way through a kitchen and breakfast room renovation for the past six weeks. The kitchen is now ready for new countertops, so I've turned my attention to the breakfast room. Last weekend I hung the wallpaper, and I had my kids pull an old bakersrack out of the garage, where it's been sitting around for the past 22 years. The rack is a little dusty and rusty, but minus the dust it's perfect for the one space I have in this room for a multipurpose display and storage shelf.

Today I cleaned up the wallpapering mess, mopped the floor, and put the room back together. When that was done, it was time to shop the house and personalize the baker's rack.

My before pics are not for the faint of heart. At the post-Christmas moment when I decided to redo these rooms, serious CHAOS had set in ... the Fly Lady kind of C.H.A.O.S. ... Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome. Here's how it looked when I started:

This is where I put the baker's rack :o) Right after Christmas, this corner was piled with wrapping paper and packaging, all on top of an IKEA Lack table that is virtually buried. There's a wallpaper sample taped to the wall, and there are huge ice chests on the table and the counter, because our fridge had stopped working and we had to put everything in coolers while waiting for the part.

This picture was taken on Valentine's Day, last weekend, right before I started hanging wallpaper. The kitchen cabinets have been painted, except for the one above the stove, which has been taken down. The bakers rack goes on the wall with the arrow.

Wallpaper's up, baseboards are painted, bakers rack is in place.

Ray and I both enjoy wine, and our stash has been living in cardboard boxes since we started the reno. Now there's a spot for a few bottles in the kitchen, and an additional 4 cases (yep, 48 bottles, woohoo!) in a wine rack I purchased yesterday afternoon ... I'll be writing about it soon!

A few specifics about what's on display:

I've been collecting baskets for almost 40 years. This rattan serving tray was purchased at Cost Plus (aka World Market) in the 1970s, when I was in college, and the cheese plates were purchased at World Market earlier this month. The sweet little pitcher -- made for FTD florists -- was a Goodwill find for a couple bucks, pulled straight out of a box of unlisted eBay inventory this afternoon.

A few cookbooks from a very large collection, plus my favorite blue coffee mugs. These mugs coordinate with the dishes at my office, and are identical to the mugs I use there. I put them in this basket temporarily, to get them off the crowded kitchen counter, and I'll be taking them to the office tomorrow. I'll replace them with stoneware mugs, either black or white, most likely from another box of unlisted eBay inventory purchased on a buying trip last fall.

I love this tarnished candelabra! Ray has cleaned it several times, and this is as good as it gets, which is fine with me ... I love the look of old patinaed silver. This belonged to my mother, and was purchased in the early 1970s, when I was still in high school (I remember, because she frequently let me play hookey to go junking with her). Here are a couple more pics for detail:

I love the elegant curves of the arms.

Even the heavy, sturdy base looks delicate.

This picture shows Millennium Park in downtown Chicago. I have a lot of framed travel memorabilia from trips we've taken, and hope to squeeze a few items into this room and the kitchen.

Check out this fabulous chair! Yes, the fabric is fuzzy ... it's a very short-haired faux fur. This is the one item I've purchased especially for the breakfast room (oops, it's the second ... the first was the hanging light in the window). I went junking for a couple hours yesterday afternoon, and when I saw this chair I simply had to have it.

All in all, it took about half an hour to pull this look together. I ran through a couple rooms, grabbed a few things, and then arranged them. I expect that what's on this rack will change often, which keeps things fresh and interesting. I'll be hanging more pictures, and I need to install my dimmer switches before putting the switch plates back on the wall. Lots of great things are in the works, so please drop by again to see what's new.

February 18, 2009

Bay window (open kitchen is to the left). I bought a cool light kit at Lowe's, that allowed me to replace a canister light with a hanging light. It's an adaptor that simply screws into the exisiting lightbulb socket, and took less than 10 minutes to install. The drop length of the cord is adjustable, and the glass shade is sold separately. Total cost approx. $30 (adaptor kit was $19.99, and shade was less than $10.00)

Yikes ... that window sure looks dirty in the sunlight! The wall with the mural faces the kitchen and family room. With the upper kitchen cabinets removed, the mural will draw your eye through all 3 rooms, approx. 40 feet. In the before pics, there was a tall oak bookcase against this wall.

All 3 wallpapers are up, and I love the way the border ties the upper and lower papers together. The mural is currently up with pushpins, to determine proper placement. Although it's pre-pasted, it won't stick well to the textured vinyl paper below it, so I'll need to use wallpaper paste.

The window on the left is to the immediate right of the mural. On this shorter wall, between the window and the laundry room doorway, the upper paper looks very busy, as expected when I chose it. The idea was to have the pretty wine labels visible in small doses, as an accent, and to cover the rest with artwork or furniture. I've already put a black baker's rack against this wall, the ultimate justification for having stored it in the garage for the past 26 years :o)

Remember this terrific border paper from my previous post? It's made by Village, and was discontinued more than a year ago (and, boy, was I unhappy when I found that out at the wallpaper store on Saturday afternoon!). Last night I found it on eBay, and got a great price on 3 rolls ... woohoo! This will go up in the slanted soffit area.

Still needed for this room:

* A metallic hanging fixture to replace the white ceiling fan

* A round wrought iron table with wood top (currently used at my office) to replace the rectangular pine dining table. I'm going to paint the top of that table black, to match the kitchen cabinets.

* Dining chairs: I plan to paint the current Windsor style chairs black, until I find some other chairs I like that have cushioned seats that can be recovered.

* Window treatments: something bistro-like, but no definite ideas yet. I'm going to start looking at fabrics at Joanne's and a couple other places around town.

* Small bistro table and chairs set: I'd like to put a cute bistro table and 2 chairs in the center of the bay window ... it would be such a great place formorning coffee or a glass of wine, and would add a lot to the overall ambiance of the space. I'm going thrifting this afternoon, to begin my search for a vintage marble-topped table.

* As you can see, there is no wooden trim on the windows, so I've wrapped the wallpaper on to the drywall "inside" the windows. I'm thinking of adding some plain trim on the flat bottom portion, where a window sill normally goes. Nothing fancy, just black painted wood to give it a more finished look, and for added durability. I've wallpapered my window sills before, and the paper always gets dirty and eventually it begins to lift.

February 14, 2009

The tutorial on painting kitchen cabinets is coming soon, but has to wait until I have a bit more time at the keyboard.

Today is Valentine's Day, and of course we're showing our love for one another by working (together, but separately) on the house.

My Valentine's Day project is wallpapering the breakfast room (amen to that!). It's going to be luxuriously cool, and a fabulously fun place to eat, once everything is in place.

I'm using three papers on the walls -- two prints, plus a border at chair rail height. Because this room has a coffered ceiling, the walls are a bit on the short side, just 90" off the floor. And because I'm also using a large mural in the middle of one wall, above the border, I had to tack up a strip of everything to be sure I got the balance and proportions right. The where-do-I-put-my-chair-rail rule of thumb -- 1/3 of the wall up the wall -- didn't work, as it was just too low to be aesthetically pleasing. It's going to come up about an inch higher than shown in these photos.

This is a full-wall shot of the paper I'm using on the bottom. I have this paper on several walls in my family room and entry hall. It's by Wallpaper Illusions, and is intended to be torninto pieces, then randomly placed, for a faux finish look, as shown here.

The billiards table is gorgeous, but it's not mine ... I couldn't get a clear pic of my family room without a flash, and that made the wallpaper look rust-colored. This is a stock photo from the paper manufacturer :o)

Since I've already used the torn/faux finish application in other areas, I'm going to hang solid/non-torn sheets of this paper in the breakfast room, which will tie the rooms together without duplicating the look.

As shown in the first photo (enlarge any photo for detail), this paper has pretty gold highlights, and they show up better without the torn edges in the faux treatment. The cranberry-and-gold border draws your eye around the room, and it brings out the metallic tones pop in the upper and lower papers.

The wine label print is a medium-weight, lightly textured, scrub-able vinyl, with a variety of shades of gold and bronze. The paper looks busy all by itself, but will tone down considerably when I place the mural over it.

This shows one of three mural sections. As you can see, the mural is going to leave just a few inches of the wine label print showing around the edges.

I'll actually cheat a bit and use a different -- much less expensive -- paper beneath the mural. Do you remember all the $1 per roll paper I bought on clearance at Lowes right after Christmas? Behind the mural will be a perfect place to use it :o)

There's only one wall (to the right of this photo, with a door to the laundry room) where you'll see much of the wine label print, and I'm planning to put a baker's rack on that wall. The third wall is a large bay window, and the fourth "wall" is not a wall at all, it's open to the kitchen, over the cooktop.

Above the mural, you can see a sample piece of a wide border that I've had for several years. Unfortunately, I only have the sample. I know it came from Lowe's, but they've discontinued their in-stock papers. I'm going to take it to my favorite wallpaper store and see if the owner can match it for me, or find something similar, as I'd love to use it on the angled edges of the coffered ceiling. If you look carefully, you can also see the ceiling color, which is a warm and light buttery cream: it's hard to get a photo of the color, but it shows against the contrast of the cool grayish white primer.

One more picture of this gorgeous border. I'm on my way to the wallpaper store, so wish me luck!

February 13, 2009

I really wanted a blue and white kitchen with a sort of shabby farmhouse look, but it didn't take me long to realize that wasn't going to work. I even wrote a Blue Monday post about it, called Kitchen Blues. The kitchen is wide open to the family room, which has cranberry colored wallpaper, rich brown leather furniture, and a casually elegant look designed to make The Smith Men happy. Cottage-y blue and white wasn't going to work in the adjacent space, so I dug deeper in my clippings and photo files.

Here are some white kitchens that really spoke to me:

Crisp and classic, with a touch of romance. Love the beadboard and the double sinks. Not sure if this is a marble countertop or a marbelized Corian, but it's gorgeous.

Open shelves and glass doors look great. The metal band in front of the glasses is perfect for earthquake-prone California. I like the towel bar on the front of the sink cabinet. Don't like the stainless countertops, at least not for my own kitchen.

Romantic and gorgeous! More marble countertops, an ultra-deep marble farmhouse sink, and a subway-tile-sized marble backsplash. With creamy or light beige cabinets, this would work with my family room, but it still feels too light and not-quite-anchored-enough for our space.

And then I found Layla's kitchen-in-progress at The Lettered Cottage, and I knew I wanted to paint my cabinets black.

Layla's kitchen with plain white walls

Still in progress ... Layla's kitchen with beadboard and blue walls

Black cabinets can go so many ways ... chippy country, authentically aged, sleek modern, French country, townhouse sophisticated, or any combination of the above. I told Ray I was going to paint the cabinets black, and sand the edges to give them a touch of a country look. Once I started painting the cabinet doors, I decided against distressing the edges.

Here are a few more black cabinet pics I found inspiring:

Marble countertops, again.

Sophisticated two-tone look.

Love the gold letters! I wish I could remember whose kitchen this is, to give them credit. If anyone knows, please leave a comment :o)

This is Gwyneth Paltrow's kitchen. It's huge, it's black, and it's beautifully designed, but I honestly don't like it. The colors are too muted and too cool for me. I like warm tones, not grays. When you're planning a project, it's important to keep photos of what you don't like, even if you don't yet know why you don't like it. That's an investment of time that can save you lots of money and frustration. IMO, this kitchen looks like no one ever cooks in it, and -- to me -- it doesn't look like a fun or stimulating place to cook and entertain.

Compare this kitchen to Paltrow's: it's warm, friendly, and casually sophisticated, and looks like a lovely place to cook and entertain family and friends.

February 12, 2009

I've been working on my kitchen remodel for the past six weeks, so I guess it's time to post a few pics and start telling the story. Here's a bit of background:

Our home was built in 1986, and we're the original owners. We moved in at the end of February 1987. It's a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom home, with formal living and dining, plus a large family room, indoor laundry room, and breakfast room, about 2400 s.f. total, single story, slab foundation. The family room, kitchen, and breakfast room run along the back of the house, with the kitchen in the middle, divided from the other 2 rooms with upper and lower cabinets.

Looking through kitchen from breakfast room to family room

Looking into the kitchen from the family room.

Yes, it's messy :o) The fridge broke the day before I took these pics, so all of the stuff that had to be kept cold is in two large coolers on the breakfast room table, and everything else is spread across the counters.

As you can see, we have the original builder's "custom" cabinets, which are unstained/unvarnished ash, rubbed with Danish Oil. That's how they were intended to look, and they needed to be oiled several times each year. We've talked about replacing them since the day we moved in, 22 years ago, but have never gotten around to it.

For the past few years, we've avoided the issue because we've been planning to move out of state. You know what they say about the best laid plans ... my mother died 2 years ago (and I'm still probating her estate), and then my 94 year old father-in-law passed away on Halloween last fall. Prior to that, we were certain we would move by the end of this year. Now -- to remain driving distance close to my mother-in-law -- we know we'll be here for another 1 to 3 years. And the kitchen was making me nuts!

One side of the kitchen is a U-shaped counter, against the outside wall. We put in Pergo floors 3 or 4 years ago, and absolutely love them! The white wooden baseboards need painting, due to Swiffer scrapes and scuff marks.

More messies, due to the broken fridge (which was repaired, but it took 3 weeks to get the part!). This large window is bumped out over the patio, and collects a lot of junk. The sink and tile are original and need to be replaced.

Dishwasher looks great and works well, but is getting old. I had planned to keep it, but after working on the kitchen for the past six weeks, have decided to replace it since I'll have a plumber here to put in the new sink and disposal.

When I took this pic, I must have been trying to hide the coolers on the other side of the counter :o) The stainless steel Jenn Air cooktop came with the house ... 4 burners plus an electric BBQ grill in the center, with a downdraft vent. Loved the BBQ (it was so much faster than charcoal), hated the weak vent (which broke several years ago and hasn't been repaired), and we replaced both two-burner units 2 or 3 years ago, due to discoloration. We're replacing the cooktop with a smaller 5 burner solid-glass cooktop, and are looking forward to gaining a LOT of lower cabinet space when the large metal conduit and downdraft exhaust fan are removed.

Ugly overhead fluorescent light fixture, though not as bad as some. It's huge ... you can only see 1/3 of it here. To hold down costs, it will stay.

The opposite wall -- from left to right -- holds a pantry, the fridge (love my bottom freezer!), upper/lower cabinets, and a double oven. The door between the breakfast room and the laundry room is on the far left.

My original plan for this spot was to add an appliance garage where the free-standing Lowe's cabinet is on the countertop (which we use for bread). I know that I want to make this countertop contrast with the countertops on the other side of the kitchen, and am thinking about using black slab marble.

Double ovens, installed less than 5 years ago. Baseboards are dusty, and I've already started priming the tiny wall next to the oven.

Looking through breakfast room from laundry room door. There's a fabulously huge bay window and a lovely coffered ceiling above the table. Window treatments, wall decor, and most of the molding has already been removed.

Bookshelf is moving out, as is the ceiling fan. All of these pics are so messy, because I'd started doing some of the prep -- and generally moving stuff around -- before I took the photos.

So ... it's late December and the kitchen is screaming for attention. I'm tired of the yellow walls, and tired of a cooktop that takes up so much space but only has 4 working burners. I'm thinking of painting the kitchen walls and ceiling a light buttery cream, to match one wall in the family room, plus the entry hall, the hallway in the bedroom wing, and the master bathroom. I've been longing for bright white kitchen cabinets, like the ones I had in my previous studio/office. And I definitely want wallpaper in my breakfast room again ... I LOVE wallpaper and the ambiance it creates.

To kick things off, Ray cleaned out all of the cabinets, to get rid of unused items and duplicates we don't really need. Three of the four adults in this house are serious cooks (see my What's Cooking sidebar, on the upper right of this page), so we sometimes accumulate an overabundance of kitchen toys. Once we'd sent the extras to Goodwill, we installed some nifty rolling wire baskets to help keep us organized, and I wrote a Met Monday post about it here.

While Ray was working on the rolling baskets, I started the Official Research Phase: digging through my clippings files, looking at books and magazines at Barnes & Noble, visiting model homes, building centers, and kitchen showrooms, and spending lots of time online looking at other people's kitchens. My guess is that Ray's the only person who was even mildly surprised when I did a 180 and started designing a totally different kitchen than the one we'd talked about.

Best of all, Remodeling Guy has some of the hottest eye candy around ... photos that you'll come back to time after time, whether you're looking for Big Picture Inspiration or trying to find the Perfect Little Details to pull it all together.

Go see Tim, grab a CREW button for your sidebar, and tell your friends to take a look.

Great things are happening at RemodelingGuy.net and there's definitely something for everyone -- and every room -- in YOUR house!

"What this means to me is an opportunity to try to restructure and save Shabby Chic.

Over the past couple of years we opened about 10 new stores. Largely due to an economy that took a dramatic turn, the timing was very poor to try and expand. There are other reasons that caused the cracks, which one day I will explain just to pass on my lessons.

The road to recovery for Shabby Chic will be hard and recovery is by no means certain. I find myself in a situation of having to understand parts of business that are challenging for a flea market girl.

... I am touched by the demand for our products. Some of which we cannot supply at this time. I thank you for loving Shabby Chic. And somehow we will shrink down to a place that we can get our feet back on the ground.

If you see a store closing it is not because we didn't try, or love the neighbourhood. We just have to focus our energies and resources to gain our strength back and take care of our customers through remaining store locations.

Your patience will be needed and so very appreciated. My staff will answer your questions as best they can.

I thank you for your faith in me."

I'm sure Rachel is comforted by the many emails and blog comments she is receiving during this stressful time. If you'd like to leave a note of support or encouragement, here's a direct link to the announcement on her blog.

Photos in this post are from Rachel's blog or her corporate website, shabbychic.com.

EDITED 2-11-09 ~ Something went wrong when I first wrote this post ... the photos were here, but the text wasn't. And the typepad software interface went nuts and wouldn't let me make any changes or remove the post ... aaack! I finally discovered I can edit this post by using a different computer, which is pretty weird. My apologies for any confusion.

January 30, 2009

In between coats of paint on my cabinet doors, I've been reading about all the great end-of-January sales everyone has been shopping, and getting photo-envy over some of their great buys. Stores with huge discounts this week have been Pier 1 (up to 90% off), Target (most of the items in their on-again-off-again home furnishings department is 50% off), Lowes, HomeSense (we don't have one), IKEA (don't have one of those, either, though they tease us with their 1.7 million square foot Western Region Distribution Center, half an hour south or town), and everyone's all-time faves, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and Ross.

Thursday afternoon found me -- once again -- shopping for kitchen countertops. Since I was already out and about, I made the rounds of the stores with sales, and came up totally empty, a very unusual occurance. Either the stores had nothing that I wanted or needed, or what they had wasn't on sale. I'm a very picky shopper right now, with the kitchen half done ... storage is currently at a premium and my focus is nearly 100% on Stuff I Need For The Kitchen.

One of the things I've decided I need is several dozen identical spice bottles, since our current storage system isn't working and I want to reclaim that cabinet space. So I stopped into Cost Plus World Market, as I knew they had a variety of different spice bottles for 99 cents each. None of my bloggy friends had mentioned that World Market is having an incredible clearance sale on items throughout the store, with discounts beginning at 50% off the original price. I bought my spice racks and jars -- not on sale but very afforable -- and I'll write a post about them this weekend, while writing about the kitchen reno.

My Big Find at World Market was this set of four cheese plates, packaged in a round box that looks like it holds a wheel of Camembert. The plates were marked down from $24.99 to $12.49 per set of four, so the actual cost per plate was just over $3.00 each.

These plates are absolutely PERFECT for the new style of our kitchen and breakfast room, which is going to be a meld of French/Italian bistro, with a bit of wine cellar tossed in for good measure. Although these plates would look great hung on the wall, I decided I'd like to have them for everyday use, so I purchased two sets. The plates are coupe style (slightly rounded edges, no rims) and are 6.5" across, just the right size for cheese, dessert, a salad, or a snack. I'll be swapping out my rectangular pine kitchen table with a round wooden-topped wrought iron table (currently in the large rotunda-like entry hall at my office/studio), and I'll keep these plates stacked in the middle of the table, restaurant-style. That's the ambiance we're aiming for, minus the greasy shaker of fake Parmesan cheese :o)

January 26, 2009

I keep promising to post some before-and-during pics of my kitchen re-do, but I've been so busy painting cabinet doors that I haven't felt inspired to actually start writing about the kitchen. And though I'm supposed to be painting right now, I grabbed my pretty pink digicam a few minutes ago and took some pics of the slide out baskets we recently installed, which have made a HUGE difference in the tidiness of our cabinets.

I wish I had a before picture of the inside of this cabinet, because it was a mess until right before Christmas. This is a base cabinet with doors on both sides, so the doors open in the kitchen and also in the family room. We had a huge mishmash of plastic storage containers in many sizes and shapes, including old Cool Whip bowls and margarine tubs, which girls like me have a problem with throwing out, even if said containers no longer have lids. Because this cabinet was so full, the lids were stored across the room on the other side of the fridge ... and they, too, were always in a jumble despite the fact they were contained in a basket.

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The old organizational principal for this cabinet was Open Door And Shove, which caused the doors on the family room side to start pooching open. We had too many of everything, and most of it stacked poorly, if at all. My goals were to get rid of the old storage bowls and the extra mixing bowls, buy new easy-to-store containers for leftovers, and find a way to keep it organized.

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Our previous home -- 23 years ago -- had fabulous roll-out shelves that practically organized themselves. I designed that kitchen from scratch, and it broke my heart to leave it behind after less than 2 years. Our current home has "builders custom" cabinets, which means they're built to absolute minimum standards. For the first 5 years we were here, we swore we were going to gut the entire kitchen and put in something we'd love. For the following 10 years, we talked about either customizing the insides of the cabinets or buying a different house. And for the past 5+ years, we've been planning to move out of state, so we didn't want to fuss with the kitchen until we were ready to move. Sound familiar?

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During those 23 years, Ray and I have gotten older, fatter, and less flexible, making it problematic to dig around on bottom shelves for heavy bowls and pans. I decided it was time to add some affordable roll-out baskets and kill two birds -- access and organization -- with one stone. I also decided that, after 25 years of marriage, it would be great if all our storage bowls matched again, nested nicely, and made the best use of space in the cabinet as well as in the fridge.

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The solution? Rubbermaid Easy Find Lids 44 Piece Food Storage Set, $24.99 at Target. I also bought a smaller set for about ten dollars less.

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These bowls are AWESOME! They're square, they stack in the fridge,
they nest for storage, and the four largest sizes all use the same size
lid. The lids actually snap onto the bottom of the bowl (if you want
to store each bowl with its own lid), and they also snap together, so
you can stack the lids or lie then down and they don't flop around.

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I bought two assorted sets of these bowls, and have around 35 bowls-plus-lids, and all but the tiny ones fit together in one 14" wide rolling rack (rack purchased at Lowes). No more bending, squatting, or hunting, and no more walking across the room to find a matching lid. Pure bliss.

Here are a few more shots of the roll out racks, which we're really enjoying:

The blue paint is primer, the black is the new color.

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This shelf used to be crammed with loose packages of pasta and rice. You can see the old color of the cabinets at the top of the photo ... it's what I'm supposed to be painting, instead of sitting here typing.

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Side view of roll out pasta rack. My college-aged sons eat a LOT of pasta!

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Thanks for stopping by today. I'm going to get some more before-and-during kitchen pics posted soon, along with some inspiration photos and samples of the wallpaper for the breakfast room, which is becoming a French Bistro. Lots to do, and lots of time to do it.

This lovely blue-and-white vignette was in an antique mall in Maple Ridge, B.C. I really wanted to bring that sweet shoe vase home, but our suitcases and carry on items were already bursting at the seams.

January 24, 2009

Some of the best blog-writing I do ends up on other peoples' blogs, in the comments section. One person's story often lights a fire under a story of my own, and that person ends up with comments from me that range in length from short essay to mini novela.

It happened again today. Melissa, at The Inspired Room, wrote a post called DIY Mishaps: The Superglue Incident. Be sure to read it, it's a hoot. Like any good blogger who loves reader comments, she made a simple request: "do tell me your own home improvement disasters in the comments! Misery loves company!"

So I shared a story of my own and, as is often the case, realizedI was hiding a perfectly good story on someone else's blog, where very few people would see it. Dumb, huh? And I made a new Blogging Resolution, which is to start posting those lengthy commments -- which are, in essence, my response to a writing prompt -- to my own blog as well. Pretty darn simple, dontcha think?

Michelle's topic:home improvement disasters ... Misery loves company!

Newton's First Law:An object at rest will remain at rest unless acted on by an unbalanced force.An object in motion continues in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.This law is called the law of inertia.

My Story:

My "personal best" DIY disaster occured more than 25 years ago, when my future husband and I had a bunch of friends on the roof of our house, removing several layers of old, thin, highly flammable and very leaky shingles. We had a covered hacienda-style porch that ran the width of the front of the house, and there were ladders and scaffolding set up all along the porch for access to the roof.

I was in the front yard, about 25 feet from the porch, when I heard the phone ring inside the house. Not wanting to miss the call, I ran across the yard, seriously misjudging the height of the scaffolding. My upper body came to a dead stop when my forehead slammed into a 2″ thick scaffolding plank, but my feet kept going for another millisecond, tipping me backwards and slamming me flat on my back on the concrete walkway. A classic slipped-on-a-banana-peel type fall — minus the banana peel — performed at high speed while being smacked in the forehead with the equivalent of a baseball bat.

kinda like me ... ouch!

Just like in a car accident, the “loose” items continued their forward movement: my silver-and-turquoise stud earrings literally SHOT out of my earlobes and hit the front wall, six to eight feet from where my head stopped. Quite a lesson in Newtonian physics [an object in motion remains in motion until acted on by another force]. My earrings were discovered on the porch later in the day: I had no idea they were missing, as I’d been busy holding ice packs on the front and back of my head.

No concussion, just two big-bumps-with-bruises, and a seriously bruised ego. What should have been just a couple hours of feeling foolish grew into 25 years of “Hey, remember the time Victoria …” My foolish fall gained the stature of Myth, becoming A Story Of Great Proportion, retold with relish at family holidays, gatherings of friends-who-were-there, and — of course — at least once during any and all DIY projects I’ve done over the past 25 years.

January 21, 2009

real food wednesdays is a new blog carnival, now in it's 3rd week. It's a great place to share ideas and recipes for eating healthier and saving time and money on meals. Click on the real food wednesdays banner for links to this week's participants.

This week's topic is Healthy Fast Food, which is a bit misleading, since we're not talking about Mickey D's bananas and apples. We're looking for home-cooked meals made from real foods ... health-full dinners you can get on the table quickly on those nights when you don't have a lot of time.

Fast [and] Healthy Food might be a better title :o) Whatever you call it, just about everyone can use a few more ideas and recipes for fast meals that are both nutritious and delicious. When we're in a hurry -- or just plain looking for something good to eat -- we cook pasta.

My family loves pasta, and we eat it several times each week. It's super-fast, inexpensive, and turns into wonderful meals with just a few ingredients. Just choose your favorite pasta shape and type -- whole grain, gluten-free, veggie-based, etc. -- and make a fresh and simple sauce or topping while the pasta cooks. Pasta dinners are great for cleaning out the fridge!

The simplest sauces are butter and freshly grated cheese, or chopped garlic sauteed in olive oil (add tuna or anchovies, capers, diced tomatoes, and black olives, and it's Pasta Putanesca). We use olive oil in our sauces, but you can use butter, broth, or any healthy oil. Oils flavored with red chilis give your pasta some extra spice.

Want something fancier? Saute any mixture of veggies in olive oil, and add fresh herbs (dill, chives, oregano, etc.) if you have them. Stir fry a few ounces of diced meat, or add shredded leftover chicken, beef, or fish. Add minced fresh garlic when everything else has finished cooking. Toss with cooked pasta and serve. If you need to do a make-ahead pasta, follow the basics and then place your pasta-and-topping mixture in a casserole, top with cheddar, mozzarella, or jack cheese, bake till the cheese melts, then hold in a warm oven.

Like many families, we're often on different schedules. Last night, my pharmacist-husband was on-call, our 19 year old had come home from the first day of the new semester and gone to sleep early, and our 22 year old didn't finish his first day of classes until after 9 p.m. The end result was that three different dinners were prepared, and two of them were pasta. Ray and I had linguinichampignons(the fancy French word for mushrooms, which sounds so much nicer than the Italian funghi): 1/2 poundsliced mushrooms, minced garlic (lots), and 2 large diced yellow onions, all sauteed in olive oil and topped with freshly grated parmesan cheese. Our oldest son had macaroni with homemade chili-and-beans and topped it with cheddar cheese, lowfat sour cream, and red onions. Plain yogurt makes a good topping if you don't want sour cream.

Everyone in our four adult household cooks, and we all believe in the taste-and-see method :o) It's hard to give precise measurements for pasta and sauces. We use about 1/4 to 1/3 pound dried pasta per person, and a bit more if we want to have leftovers. We use red or yellow onions, and we use tons of garlic because we all enjoy it. If your family loves garlic, use 2 to 4 cloves (or more) per half pound of dried pasta: if they're not big garlic fans, cut that amount in half or leave it out all together. I suggest adding minced garlic to your sauces and toppings after all other ingredients are cooked, so that the flavor doesn't cook out. A pinch of red pepper brings out other flavors, and a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper goes into most sauces and toppings. Ray adds a pinch of sea salt when he cooks, and I almost never do ... either way, our pastas are delicious.

Note on Parmesan Cheese: Never ever ever EVER buy the dried parmesan cheese that comes in a big red or green cardboard can. My kids called this "shake cheese" when they saw it at a friend's house. If you don't have real parmesan cheese, your pasta dishes will taste much better with no cheese at all. You can also substitute other real cheeses for parmesan ... try mozzarella, jack cheese, hard cheddar, or any other cheese your family likes. We like gorgonzola (blue cheese) in a light cream sauce, tossed with hot tortellini or penne. We like the same sauce on flat noodles (linguini or fettucine), with the addition of diced roasted beets (sounds weird, but it's fabulous!).

Here are a few more pasta toppings we enjoy. All of these recipes can be made in 30 minutes or less:

Fresh GardenTomatoes: You need fresh summer tomatoes for this, from your own garden or straight from the farmer's market. For each 1/2 pound dried pasta, use 2 or 3 medium fresh red tomatoes. While the pasta is cooking, remove the seeds from the tomatoes and chop them in approximately 1/2" cubes. Roughly chop or slice 1 bunch (approximately 1 cup) fresh basil leaves. Thinly slice (the white parts only) of 2 to 4 green onions. Mix the diced/sliced veggies in a bowl and add salt and pepper to taste. Drain pasta (vermicelli, spaghetti, or angel hair) and toss with a little olive oil. Pour pasta into wide flat serving bowl, pour tomato mixture on top , and serve with fresh parmesan. This is also good with a little balsamic vinegar, which brings out the sweetness of the tomatoes.

Chicken Topping: Use either roughly chopped raw chicken or shredded cooked chicken. Saute 1 or 2 chopped onions in olive oil until soft. Add chicken meat and either stir fry or simply warm the meat if it's already cooked. Add minced fresh garlic to taste and remove from heat. Add 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of any of the following: prepared sun-dried tomatoes (the ones from Trader Joes, that come in a jar, are excellent), and/or fresh or frozen peas, and/or chopped Kalmata olives, OR prepared pesto (Trader Joes pesto is excellent if you don't make your own). Toss with cooked penne, mostacolli, or rigatoni. We eat this at least once a week, usually made with leftover roasted, smoked, or bbq'd chicken.

Fettucine Carbonara: This sounds fancy, but it's super fast and easy. Use either diced ham, crumbled bacon, or veggie bacon bits. While fettucine is cooking, saute 1/2 onion in olive oil or bacon grease (yeah, we all want bacon once in a while). Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup cooked ham or several slice crumbled bacon. Add minced garlic to taste, and immediately remove from heat so garlic doesn't brown. Cover and keep warm. Drain pasta, saving 1/2 cup of the cooking water. Toss cooked pasta with warm bacon-onions-garlic mixture. Add a couple pats of butter or margarine, or another 1 to 2 Tablespoons of olive oil, plus 1/4 cup of the cooking water. If pasta seems a little dry, add a little more cooking water. Divide pasta into individual portions in wide flat bowls. For each serving, fry one egg (sunnyside or over easy is best -- I've never met a person who's had salmonella from eggs). Place egg on top of pasta and serve with freshly grated parmesan. The runny yolk creates a wonderfully rich sauce.

Creamy Sauce -- Bechemal or Alfredo: Creamy sauces are very high in fat, so we don't use them very often or in very large quantities. Even so, they're delicious and super-fast-and-easy to make. This basic recipe will make 1 to 2 cups of sauce, and can be made with your choice of milk: non-fat, lowfat, whole, light cream, or heavy cream. We use 1% or 2% lowfat milk. Melt 2 tablespoons butter or margarine (not soft spread) in a saucepan over medium low heat. When butter bubbles, stir in 2 tablespoons flour with a wire whisk, until the flour and butter are well-mixed. Slowly add between 1 and 2 cups of milk, stirring constantly. Continue stirring until sauce thickens and/or begins to bubble. [You now have a basic white sauce that can be used for many things: add salmon, tuna, or chicken and you have the basics of Chicken a la King. Or toss with cooked macaroni and cheddar cheese and you have awesomehomemade mac & cheese.] Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, still stirring with a whisk. Season with pepper. If your sauce seems too thick, stir in a little more milk. If it seems too thin, stir in a little more grated cheese. For Alfredo sauce, add fresh garlic.

Scampi: Lightly flour 1/2 to 1 pound raw shrimp (with or without shells ... I prefer mine without). Saute quickly in olive oil in a medium-hot pan, tossing or turning when the first side gets a little brown and the flesh turns pink. When shrimp are done (2 to 3 minutes, total), add fresh chopped garlic (to taste) and squeeze half a lime or lemon over it. Stir once, remove pan from heat, and add something green ... minced chives, parsley, or green onions. Adjust seasonings, then toss with 1/2 to 1 pound cooked linguini or fettucine. Served with grated parmesan.

January 19, 2009

Sooner or later-- whether short on inspiration or long on you-just-gotta-see-this -- almost everyone piggybacks a post, taking advantage of the time-saving Two Birds With One Stone approach to blogging. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't, and as a general rule I don't much like it. Despite my Professional Writer quirks, I am herein launching my metaphorical rock toward two Monday targets ... one BLUE bird and one YELLOW butterfly. Apologies in advance to anyone who feels, as I sometimes do, that I'm getting away with something ;-)

I'm in the midst of renovating my kitchen, which will be the subject of several future posts. Today, I want to share a fun project that's inexpensive, easy-peasy, and fully complete. I wish I could say I thought this one up, but I actually found it over the weekend, while browsing through old deco mags looking for more kitchen inspiration. The scans are a little grainy, but only if I'm actually wearing my glasses so I can focus :o)

Born-Again Bookcase Display Shelf Credenza

Project Photos from 100 Decorating Ideas Under $100, Spring 2005

Blue Monday fans ... am I the only one swooning over that fabulously beachy turquoise wall? I love the way the white display shelf and window frames let the color speak for itself. It may cold outside this afternoon, but that picture simply screams summer!

And now, back to the butterfly ...

This project starts with an old, inexpensive bookshelf unit, the kind most of us have sitting inside a closet, in our crafts room, or out in the garage. The one pictured is a build-it-yourself unit, available at places like Target & Walmart, with a lightweight particle board backing. You can find this type of shelf in mulitple sizes at garage sales, thrift stores, or even sitting out with the weekly trash in some neighborhoods.

Instructions:

1. Remove the back panel from the bookcase.

2. If necessary, patch or repair any damage to the frame, using wood putty or body putty.

3. Wash lightly to remove dirt and grease, sand lightly (I like the 3M sanding sponges for this type of job), and remove any dust with a tack cloth.

4. Paint with one or two coats of primer/sealer. My favorite is Bull's Eye 1-2-3 Water Base Sealer/Primer/Stain Blocker, available at Lowe's.

5. Paint all surfaces in the color of your choice, with a low VOC latex paint designed for indoor use. Semi gloss is a good choice for durability. Add a second coat, if needed or desired.

6. Insert shelves where desired, and secure with wood screws. Patch and paint over the screw heads.

6. When dry, turn unit sideways and add legs. The ones shown in the photo are threaded metal flanges slipped over 6" threaded metal pipes, available at any building store. Similar legs can be purchased at IKEA.

Have a great week, and please come back soon for pictures of my kitchen-in-progress :o)

With 3 amateur chefs in residence, the kitchen is definitely the heart of our home. Here's some of what we've cooked in the past week, incorporating seasonal and local ingredients, as well as what's on sale at our favorite stores.

MONDAY: Ray's amazing rosemary-roasted chicken (fill cavity with 2 limes cut in half, the peeled cloves of a full head of garlic, and a large handful of fresh rosemary ... bake at 425 until crisy and done), with Victoria's equally-amazing garlic-roasted Yukon Gold potatoes, raw veggie crudites, and fresh peas.